Hindustan Zinc celebrated World Environment Day on 5^th June, 2018, with an objective to create awareness about how the waste and discarded plastic can be reused gainfully.

To mark World Environment Day, HZL organized an exhibition that had various displays of products made out of plastic waste. Activities like painting and puzzle competition, and ‘Best out of Waste’ ideas were organised  to create consciousness towards environment protection. Around 250 ornamental and fruit bearing plants, vegetable seeds and earthen bird water feeders were also distributed to the employees and their families.

Aligning with the theme of the World Environment Day, Sunil Duggal, CEO, HZL inaugurated a PET (PolyEthylene Terephthalate) Bottle Scrap Machine, that converts waste plastic bottles into bricks. These bricks are supposedly as strong as a conventional house bricks made from sand and cement. Many earthenware containers were also kept on display to portray how these could be used as a perfect substitute to plastic as well as paper glasses.

Sunil Duggal planted a sapling of ‘Sapodila’ inside the premises of the company. Speaking on the occasion, the CEO said, “This is a huge economic issue and we  should avoid the use of plastic bags and plastic utensils. Replacing plastic bags with cloth bags will not only help the environment but also create employment in rural areas, particularly for the rural women…”

Since the 1950s, an estimated 6.3 billion tonnes of plastic has been produced, of which an estimated 9% has been recycled and another 12% of plastic waste has been incinerated. India generates over 25,000 tonnes of plastic waste every day. According to National Geographic, a whopping 91% of plastic is not recycled. Plastic pollution afflicts land, waterways and oceans.

Hindustan Zinc has been the key initiator in adopting clean green technology. The company’s mining and smelting operations are based on environment friendly technologies. The Company has a strong focus on – reduce, recycle, reuse, and reclaim policies at all its business units.